U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing the first
of two rules that will amend the regulations for the disposal of coal
combustion residuals, also known as CCR or coal ash, from electric
utilities and independent power producers. EPAs Regulatory Impact
Assessment shows this proposal, if finalized, will save the utility
sector up to $100 million per year in compliance costs.

Todays coal ash proposal embodies EPAs commitment to our state
partners by providing them with the ability to incorporate flexibilities
into their coal ash permit programs based on the needs of their states,
said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. We are also providing clarification
and an opportunity for public comment something that is much-needed
following the public reaction to the 2015 coal ash rule.

EPA estimates this proposed rule would save the regulated community
between $31 million and $100 million per year. Todays proposed rule
includes more than a dozen changes to the 2015 final CCR rule, which
established minimum national standards regulating the location, design,
and operation of existing and new CCR landfills and surface impoundments
at more than 400 coal-fired power plants nationwide.

The final 2015 CCR rule remains subject to litigation pending
before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The proposal
addresses four provisions of the 2015 CCR rule that the D.C. Circuit
remanded back to EPA in 2016, as well as additional provisions in
response to comments received since the final rule went into effect and
a petition for rulemaking EPA received in May 2017.

The proposal would allow alternative performance standards for coal
ash disposal units with operating permits issued under an approved state
or federal coal ash permit program. The proposal also requests comment
on whether a regulated facility could develop and implement similar
alternative standards that would be subject to oversight and enforcement
by EPA. Many of the proposed changes are based on the environmental
protections and regulatory flexibilities contained in EPAs longstanding
rules governing disposal of municipal solid waste. The proposal
includes:

A change to allow a state regulatory program to establish
alternative risk-based groundwater protection standards for constituents
that do not have an established maximum contaminant level (MCL), rather
than the use of background levels that are currently required. The
proposal also requests public comment on whether a facility may be
allowed to establish alternative risk-based standards using a certified
professional engineer or other means, subject to EPA oversight.

A request for comment on whether the current deadlines for
groundwater monitoring and analysis remain appropriate in light of the
new legal authorities and potential regulatory changes.

A request for public comment on modifying the location restrictions
and associated deadlines concerning construction or operation of a CCR
landfill or surface impoundment in certain areas.

Changes to allow states to establish alternative requirements for
how facilities respond to and remediate releases from CCR landfills and
surface impoundments. The proposal also requests comment on allowing
states to determine when an unlined surface impoundment that is leaking
may undertake corrective action rather than be forced to stop receiving
CCR and close.

The addition of boron to the list of constituents for which
facilitites would need to perform assessment monitoring.

Streamlined administrative procedures that a facility may comply
with if there is a non-groundwater release that can be addressed within
180 days. EPA also requests comment on whether this time period is
appropriate.

Modification of the performance standard for vegetative slope
protection to protect against erosion and failure of a surface
impoundment.

A change to the closure provisions to allow the use of coal ash
during the closure process and to allow non-CCR waste to continue to be
placed in a CCR surface impoundment that is subject to closure.

At that time the final CCR rule was issued in 2015, EPA did not
have the authority to allow states to become authorized to administer
their own CCR permit programs in lieu of the federal regulations or to
provide alternative regulatory standards and compliance options.
However, in 2016, Congress amended the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act with passage of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for
the Nation Act (WIIN Act), which provides authority for states to become
authorized to operate CCR permit programs in lieu of the federal
regulations, as long as the EPA determines that the states requirements
are at least as protective as the standards in the 2015 final rule or
successor regulations. The WIIN Act also provides EPA new authority to
provide oversight of CCR units.

EPA will be accepting public comment on this proposal for 45 days
after publication in the Federal Register and plans to hold a public
hearing to receive additional feedback on the proposal during the public
comment period. EPA also plans to propose additional changes to the CCR
rule later this year.